MinutesAppalachian Authors Guild

A Chapter of the Virginia Writer’s ClubBi-monthly Members Meeting

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Time and Place:The bi-monthly meeting of the Appalachian Authors Guild was held on Tuesday, July 12, 2016 at Shoney’s Restaurant in Abingdon, Virginia. The meeting took place from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm.

Attendance:Speakers Jack Beck and Wendy Welch, President Vicki Fletcher, Vice President JC Schweingrouber and guest Angela Wells-Sills, Secretary Jami McDonald and guest Sharon McDonald, Members Sylvia Nickels, Linda Dobkins, Linda Hoagland, Hazel Fleming, Jean Snader, Gretchen McCroskey, Peggy Callison, and Tom Fugate.

Call to Order:The meeting was called to order by President Vicki Fletcher.

Business: The secretary’s report was printed out and given to each member by Vicki Fletcher. A

motion was made, seconded, and carried to accept the minutes as given for the June/July board meeting.

Jack Rose, treasurer, reported: As of July 5, 2016, the Checkbook Balance for the Guild was $939.45. Checks

were written in June to Dr. McKnight ($50.00), In the Country ($250.00), and USPS ($102.00).

The following dates/times/locations are for our remaining meetings in 2016.Lunch/Dinner will accompany the general meeting that is underlined, so please let Vicki know if you plan to attend. This will help the restaurant prepare for the appropriate number of guests.

October 11th – Abingdon Library, 1 pm – 3 pm, Board/Writer’s forum. November 8 th – Abingdon Shoney’s, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm, Speaker TBA. At this

meeting, we will announce the 2017 officers. The board would also like to have a special Christmas holiday fellowship on

Tuesday, December 13th, from 6 pm – 8 pm. The location of this event will be determined later. If anyone has any ideas/input about this event, please let Vicki know.

Webmaster Sylvia Nickles reported that our website had 17, 081 hits as of July 2016. Sylvia also reported that the website is getting visitors from much more varied regions.

Many of the individuals who visit our site seem to be connecting with the Guild through two larger writers’ websites, writersrelief.com and writersandeditors.com. The Appalachian Authors Guild is listed on those websites under ‘local and regional organizations.’ We are grateful to those two sites for their continuing support.

After much discussion and research, the board has decided that this autumn would not be a good time to host the Wine and Words event. It is an opportunity that we are still interested in pursuing and hope to continue to do so in 2017. Thanks to Linda Dobkins, Jack Rose, and Vicki Fletcher for the time and effort they put into researching and planning this event.

If you have any more questions/ideas/comments for Vicki, she can also be reached at 276-492-8314 and vfletcher56@gmail.com.

Speaker:Vicki Fletcher, President and Program Chair, introduced the speakers, Jack Beck and Wendy Welch. Jack and Wendy own Tales of the Lonesome Pines Used Books, which was the subject of Wendy’s memoir The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap. Jack presents a weekly show centered on Celtic music for public radio and is a lifetime honorary member of the traditional Music and Song Society of Scotland. The couple rescues kittens and books for their bookstore! You can get to know Wendy, Jack, and their bookstore better by visiting:https://wendywelchbigstonegap.wordpress.com/about/.https://www.facebook.com/Tales-of-The-Lonesome-Pine-LLC-166114776736491/.

At our meeting, Jack and Wendy talked to the AAG about a variety of topics including traditional Scottish music, the publication of Wendy’s memoir, and how to go about marketing your book once it is published. Wendy and Jack both have beautiful voices and it was a treat to listen to a sampling of their music. It was a very enjoyable meeting and we appreciate them for joining us.

Adjournment:President Vicki Fletcher adjourned the meeting.

Respectfully submitted,

Jami McDonald, secretary